I’m a huge, HUGE fan of hardwood floors. Especially if they are the original floors in a 100+ year old home. But you need something to soften and "cozy up" a room that has hardwood floors. Rugs are my #1 choice to do that. I also feel it adds a bit of style and taste to a room without fully committing to something more permanent like a paint color. But as much as I love them, I hate buying rugs! I have such a hard time picking out a good rug. First you have to choose the colors, then decide if you want a pattern and finally the daunting task of what size it should be. So you can imagine how excited I was when I came across this great online guide from Ballard Designs. It helps make at least one part of picking out a great rug easy. The site not only tells you measurements for standard pieces of furniture in each room, but what different rug sizes look like under each piece.

For example, in a bedroom it gives the dimension for a queen bed and shows what an 8x10 and 9x12 rug looks like underneath the bed. Perfect for determining how much of a rug you want touching your toes when you get out of bed in the morning!

So hopefully you'll find the next time you go rug shopping a little less overwhelming!